Boston Marathon

BOSTON MARATHON

April 18, 2016... I am not sure the words can ever express what this day meant to me.. so I want to share with you the cliff note journey.

August 2006

I put on a pair of overused dusty sneakers and attempt to run for the first time in over 20+ years.   Yeah, probably should have figured this all out before I did... heaving and walking..this was before Facebook, selfies, and being able to have the vast space of knowledge on the internet... thank god!

January 2007

I had been trying to figure out this running thing..read gobs of books on running, triathlons, and one day bought a book on marathons...  when the cashier asked if I was going to do one..I said, "Oh no, I am just reading about them.." (WOW crazy right?)

Fast forward a few months May 2007

A-H... yes  Frederick Marathon... say what?  Yeah well I have to be honest.... I had devised this really crappy training plan (I thought it was wonderful at the time)... with my longest run being 16 miles prior to the marathon.. and that was ONE 16 mile run... there still was no Facebook (for me), no way to brag or yell or say, “Hey I am woman hear me roar”.. nope.. I just ran it on the sly not even telling my parents prior to... because I am sure mom would fear my insides would fall out...and well no one ran 26 miles least not in my family..

SO how did that go Wendy.. well let me tell you.. there is something about putting in the work .. mile 16 to the finish... was sheer hell.. I thought I could run a 8 min pace no problem ... what a reality check...  I finished my first marathon in 5:01:40...

There were many many more years of running, playing and doing a whole bunch of crazy.. and inbetween all these crazy things I was loving my new running life.. I learned a lot about who I was and what I wanted to be and I knew I wanted to be great.. I had these visions of Boston, the Olympic Time Trials, oh hell yeah I was absolutely delusional ... I thought if I worked hard enough, trained hard enough... I could do ANYTHING.. when reality hit.. it hit hard...

I could write a book on the adventures and maybe someday I will... but I know the heartbreak of putting in the time and falling miserably short.

• There was the time I even booked a hotel to Boston back in 2009... and all I had to do was run a 3:50.. I ran a 4:02:50.. was on pace only until mile 16 and things fell apart.. I cried most of the last couple miles.  That was Rehoboth... I called and cancelled the hotel reservation.

• Then there was the time that I spent 20 weeks training.. hitting every solid workout... trained for a 3:50 again fell short.. by a lot.. finishing.. in 5:01:28... I went straight to the doctors and spent many weeks recovering...that was Lehigh.

• Then there was the time that I spent 18 weeks training and trying a new system.. I was going to run a long run of 18 or 20 miles almost every weekend for 8 weeks.. yeah... that set me up for... falling short once again... finishing 4:17:32.. after being on pace up till mile 18... that was Steamtown. 

BUT HOW do I explain what it’s like to be in the race I had only dreamed about and FINALLY qualified for.. the Boston Marathon... and I am now violently ill?!

When I say violently ill I mean VIOLENTLY...and I don't know why!!

SURE it was hot at the start.. 70 degree and there wasn’t much of a breeze ...but I am a good warm weather runner.. and felt good.. and was fairly confident that I was going to run a strong race.. 

I mean hell I have done 53 marathons to this date and have encountered everything I can possibly think of... hotter than hell races... cold as hell races... a mixture of rain, sleet, snow, you name it.. I have experienced it... I have run times from as good as 3:55:29 to as not soo good .. eeep as 6:30:30 (within a Ironman.. yeah that was fun NOT)....

On bus to start.. and at Runners Village.. see happy:

Bus ride to start

Runners Village waiting for my wave

Right before start

So here is how it went... I take gels normally at mile 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and then sometimes at mile 23....I have found that this works well with my semi colon system and provides the nutrition I need to get to the finish intact.... well I took my faithful gel at mile 4.. and instantly felt nauseous... uh......oh... so I remained calm.. because it's only mile 4.. ... and then it happened.. by Mile 9 I was now violently ill.. so ill that I wasn’t sure if I would make it to a port-o-pot. 

I spent over 5 minutes in the port-o-pot contemplating how this could be happening and relief that I was now hidden away in my pain and so I text joe.. because I know he is following me on Garmin connect with my mile splits and he would see that my pace dropped SIGNIFICANTLY...

I texted him that I was violently ill but that I was going on.. now to figure out how... I just didn’t want him to worry.. I put my phone back in my pouch, and onward I went.. I am now sweating profusely, and I was a bit green... run... then walk.. run then walk... go forward... I couldn’t take any more of my gels.. so this means no fuel for the rest of the race... I couldn't cry... dehydrated ...now I am mad... 

I had A LOT of time to think... when you are clicking off 11 and 12 min miles you have a lot more time to think than when you are clicking off 8 and 9 min miles.. and to be honest.. it’s a HELL of a lot harder to run slower and longer than shorter and faster.. 

I see a friend at mile 17... and I hobble over to say hi.. he asks how I am doing.. I said not well.. but I smile because it's so nice he was there to see me.. and that he could actually see me with all these runners!!! ...and onward I go..

See I still can smile even in distress.. lol:

With Brandon at Mile 17

Somewhere there are the Newton Hills... heartbreak hill and so on.. I honestly couldn’t tell because I was too concerned with not tossing my insides onto a spectator or fellow runner.... at I think it was mile 23 I noticed the air had cooled and there was a wind in my face.. it felt marvelous... and someone had popsicles.. I tried that and it was like a little bit of heaven..

My race was NOT complete shit.. no on the contrary.... nothing will ever take away the feeling of getting to only one mile to go and seeing Juliane, Helene, and Ron... onward I go for my last mile.

That last mile was a dream... to think of all the people who have traveled this path.. the dreams, hopes and aspirations of hundreds and that I was here and finally going to finish... I thought about my mom who at the start of my quest 9 years ago stated she would be at the finish but life got in the way... mom.. in heaven... see I made it... I finally made it..

Laying on the hotel floor after

I did it.. I really did it!

I thought about how blessed I was to have family and friends who get me... who really understand this crazy madness.. to have a best friend and husband who has wept with me through all the ups and downs.  Life is strange... this is not what I thought life would be.. no.. it's much much better.

Dream big.... because one day those dreams will come true.

My 54 marathon distance/Ultra runs... 

Shamrock Marathon	3/22/2015	Virginia Beach	VA	3:55:30
Walkaway	6/13/2015	Poughkeepsie	NY	3:57:15
Run for the Red Marathon	5/17/2015	Pocono Summit	PA	3:58:41
Monster Mash Marathon	10/17/2015	Dover	DE	3:59:47
Steamtown Marathon	10/7/2012	Scranton	PA	4:01:50
Rehoboth Marathon	12/5/2015	Rehoboth	DE	4:01:55
Rehoboth Beach Marathon	11/21/2009	Rehoboth Beach	DE	4:02:50
Rehoboth Marathon	12/6/2014	Rehoboth	DE	4:03:49
Bob Potts Memorial Marathon	5/31/2009	York	PA	4:08:55
Tybee Marathon	2/2/2008	Tybee Island	GA	4:10:06
Deja Vu Marathon	11/9/2013	North Wales	PA	4:10:58
Gettysburg Marathon	4/26/2015	Gettysburg	PA	4:11:00
Philadelphia Marathon	11/21/2010	Philadelphia	PA	4:13:30
Independence Series - Race 1 (MD)	4/29/2015	Elkton	MD	4:13:45
CoDel Marathon	5/3/2015	Dewey	DE	4:15:52
Philadelphia Marathon	11/22/2015	Philadelphia	PA	4:16:48
Harrisburg Marathon	11/11/2012	Harrisburg	PA	4:17:03
Steamtown Marathon	10/13/2013	Scranton	PA	4:17:32
Independence Series - #3 (PA)	5/1/2015	Birdsboro	PA	4:18:36
Rehoboth Marathon	12/7/2013	Rehoboth	DE	4:20:48
Garden Spot Village Marathon	4/11/2015	Lancaster	PA	4:21:22
C&D Marathon	11/4/2007	Delaware City	DE	4:21:27
Gettsyburg Marathon	5/1/2011	Gettsyburg	PA	4:22:27
Bob Potts Marathon	5/16/2010	York	PA	4:23:25
Independence Series - #2 (DE)	4/30/2015	Bear	DE	4:25:21
Ocala Marathon	1/31/2010	Ocala	FL	4:25:30
Ocala Marathon	2/1/2009	Ocala	FL	4:26:30
Philadelphia Marathon	11/18/2007	Philadelphia	PA	4:34:45
Wineglass Marathon	10/2/2011	Corning	NY	4:36:33
C&D Marathon	11/2/2008	St. Georges	DE	4:37:42
Rehoboth Marathon	11/22/2008	Rehoboth Beach	DE	4:39:35
Space Coast Marathon	11/29/2015	Cocoa Beach	FL	4:39:52
Via Lehigh Valley Marathon	9/13/2015	Allentown	PA	4:40:27
Bob Potts Marathon	5/20/2012	York	PA	4:40:38
Rehoboth Marathon	12/11/2010	Rehoboth	DE	4:41:40
Rehoboth Marathon	12/8/2012	Rehoboth	DE	4:42:53
Bob Potts Marathon	5/15/2011	York	PA	4:43:48
Marine Corps Marathon	10/27/2015	Washington	DC	4:44:14
Bob Potts Marathon	5/25/2014	York	PA	4:54:13
Chasing the Unicorn Marathon	8/16/2015	Washington Crossing	PA	4:57:59
Lehigh Valley Marathon	9/13/2009	Allentown	PA	5:01:28
Frederick Marathon	5/6/2007	Frederick	MD	5:01:40
Boston Marathon	4/18/2016	Boston	MA	5:10:08
Bob Potts Marathon	5/26/2013	York	PA	5:16:01
Delaware Marathon	5/10/2015	Wilmington	DE	5:20:44
ChesapeakeMan Ultra	9/25/2010	Cambridge	MD	5:41:49
Chesapeake Man Ultra Triathlon (Ironman Distance)	9/27/2008	Cambridge	MD	5:46:13
Ironman US Championships	8/11/2012	New York	NY	6:30:30
50K Hat Race	3/29/2008	Havre de Grace	MD	6:44:08
Tussey Mountainback 50 Miler	10/3/2009	Boalsburg	PA	10:03:46
Tussey 50 Miler	10/23/2011	State College	PA	11:54:47
Labor Pains 12 Hour Race	9/4/2011	Reading	PA	12:00:00
24 Hour Back on My Feet Urban Ultra	7/18/2015	Philadelphia	PA	17:10:16
Long Ranger 24 Hour Race	7/16/2011	Philadelphia	PA	24:00:00